Orthodox Patriarchate celebrates official recognition by Turkish government
November 30, 2010
As the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople celebrated its patronal feast of St. Andrew on November 30, Patriarch Bartholomew I said that a key legal victory in the European Court of Human Rights has brought “a great day for our great Mother Church.”
The Orthodox prelate was referring to the European court’s decision that required the Turkish government to return control of the Buyukada orphanage to the Orthodox patriarchate. The decision, Patriarch Bartholomew pointed out, “means not only the return of the orphanage but also the official recognition of our Patriarchate as a legal person.” After years of fighting for legal recognition—and consistently losing appeals to Turkish courts—the Orthodox patriarchate has achieved that goal.
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Posted by: Justin8110 -
Nov. 30, 2010 10:54 PM ET USA
It's precisely that the Orthodox don't have the Vatican that they haven't had such a mass crisis in their Church. Sure, they have problems but nothing even remotely like what has happened in the Roman Catholic Church since the dclose of the Second Vatican Council. No one bishop can impose novelty on the whole Orthodox Church.
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Posted by: garedawg -
Nov. 30, 2010 7:20 PM ET USA
Glad we have the Vatican.
